As you may be aware, a motion has been put forward (it may have been passed by now, or defeated) that will not allow students to repeat courses in which they have received at least a C. There are those who want this to go down in flames, but I don't think this motion should be defeated, and here's why.

If you get a C or better in a course, here's what happens:

a) You get credit towards a degree.
b) You can use the course as a prerequisite (usually).
c) You can go on with life.

"Education is a right, not a priviledge." Bull. Education is a damned fine privilege, and we should not take it for granted. Talking about education as a right does nothing but devalue true rights, such as the right to life and freedom from slavery. It does so in the same way as some janitors devalue engineers by calling themselves "sanitary engineers".

"But what happens if I get kicked out of ENSC because my GPA slips below 3.0? How can I pull it up if I can't repeat courses?"

Here's where I agree, which is why I also believe that students who find themselves in this situation should be able to apply to the director of their department for permission to repeat specific courses for this specific purpose.

Why all the red tape? First, if you don't have it, there is a greater incentive to not get into that situation. It provides students with a way out of a potentially insurmountable mess, while at the same time allowing the department to monitor the progress of struggling students.

Remember that engineering is somewhat of an exception, because of high GPA requirements. Don't forget that we also have the benefit of a department that in my long experience I have found to be extremely supportive of its students (for the most part, and one can always point to exceptions).

In general, if a student is doing so poorly that to graduate - or even remain in school - they need to repeat courses they already passed, let's be honest: they probably are simply not putting in the necessary effort. Remember, this is a university. It may seem like it sometimes, but university students aren't stupid. I firmly believe that anyone accepted into university has the capability to succeed in university. People fail because they aren't willing, for whatever reasons they may have (and those reasons may be totally understandable), to put in the needed effort.

Why do people repeat courses? For a "GPA boost" is one reason. In most cases, this is nothing more than frivolous vanity. As a taxpayer, I have no interest in paying for that. Perhaps they take a somewhat lackadaisical attitude the first time around, knowing they can always take the course again if they need to.

Wake up to reality. Life doesn't offer second chances. Start learning that now. To the SFSS: Don't send the message to students that you can get anything you want if you whine loud enough. For all our sakes, stop being so confrontational on every issue that comes along. Focus on real issues - where honest, hard-working students are getting unfairly trod on - and leave these "whiny" issues in peace. This place needs some real leaders who can start working with the concerns of the university, instead of always being at odds with them.

These are my opinions. Feel free to disagree, debate, argue, discuss. Don't be sheep and follow the crowd. In the real world, people hate sheep. People eat sheep. Remember Red Dog? "Be your own dog."